West Highland Way - Bonus Day - Scotland's highest mountain Ben Nevis from Glen Nevis Campsite. The West Highland Way is Scotland's premier long distance footpath. The hike is 96 miles (154 km) long and runs from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. It is estimated 36,000 walk the entire route annually and is considered by ourselves to be one of the best long distance trails in the world.
Following on from completing the West Highland Way and whilst we were in Fort William we decided to extend the trip by an extra day and walk up Ben Nevis. At 1345m (4403 feet) it is Britain's highest mountain climbed by about 125,000 people each year. There is one main path known as "The Tourist Path" a misnomer in itself, as it is a hard walk.
After a night at Glen Nevis Camping and Caravan park, we ate a delicious bacon roll and coffee from a dispensing food van onsite, next door to the shop. The weather forecast had looked good earlier in the week but since then had been changed. We were now told rain, showers, low cloud, but probably drying up later. Seeing this we left a bit later than we would normally do.
We turned right out of the campsite and followed the road past the restaurant, crossing over the road by the youth hostel. We crossed the bridge over the river, commencing the walk at 9 30am by a very useful information board. This path climbs steeply by a copse and after about 20 minutes turns right to join the main path coming from Glen Nevis Visitors Centre. Here is a sign for Ben Nevis, and a bench, from which we had our last view for many hours. Low cloud was experienced from here onwards.
The path was busy with people most of whom started at the visitor centre. The path is obvious, and we reached a tarn at 10.45am, turned right and came to a very pretty waterfall. We continued up the zigzag path, most of the first section has been improved over the last few years with signs saying not to use the old path to avoid further erosion. It was raining most of the way up with no views at all, so apart from talking to people coming down, and going up, we listened to podcasts on our phones.
We had been told there was snow near the top, but we were still surprised to see it completely covering the path. It was fairly tricky using a walking stick for balance. With further patches of snow, fog, and steep cliffs to the left of the path which need to be avoided, it is not a route for novices. We reached the top at 1.30pm, exactly as the guide book says, 4 hours after leaving. The rain managed to stop whilst we ate a quick lunch, it was rather cold even in my 5 layers of clothes. On the top is the highest war memorial in Great Britain, a trig point, a weather station which has been there since 1902 and the ruins of a shelter. It is a shame given the weather and the number of people who climb the mountain each year there are not more facilities. We have walked extensively in Germany and many times come to a welcoming refuge with hot food and drinks sold, it is a shame these don't seem to be available in the UK.
As it was so cold we left the summit after a quick sandwich, and even quicker photos. It began to rain again and with the wind chill made it quite cold. The fog had got worse too. There are a couple of large cairns marking the path, even so we met a couple of walkers who had got lost. Beware of the steep cliffs either side of the path.
We hurried down, and one and a half hours after the summit we were sitting by a waterfall, when suddenly all the mist cleared. We enjoyed the vista of the valley, Loch Linnhe and mountains and lochs beyond. We continued down passing a huge tarn (Red Burn) which had been completely shrouded in mist on the way up. I was surprised to see so many people still making their way up. I was in two minds whether to tell them about the awful conditions on top, and as it was now 3pm they probably would not reach the top before 5pm. Still this is summer and it is light till after 9pm, and the weather did seem to be improving.
We continued down on the well constructed path, arriving at the information board at 5pm. It had been at long day of 4200 feet of elevation, 9.7 miles of walking, together with some very bad weather. We met many friendly people. We then ate a delicious dinner in the Glen Nevis restaurant, before returning for showers and another night in our tent. [ Ссылка ]
A very enjoyable day. We wore boots, warm clothes, waterproof coats and and ponchos, and took plenty of food and water. Many people had fewer clothes, no hats and gloves on and wore trainers, I could only assume that they were cold and had very wet feet!!
Distance Miles 9.7
Duration of Walk Hours 8.45
Average Pace Min/Mile 54
Steps 43381
Elevation gained in feet 4261
